Delhi Dynamos FC
Toni Doblas: 7/10
The captain had another comfortable outing in goal. With not many attempts on target, the Kolkata attack did not trouble and test Doblas enough. The Delhi goalkeeper played most of the game as a sweeper, keeping the box under his control, killing the threats of aerial balls from the ATK players.
Shouvik Chakraborty: 7/10
The right-back put in another good display at the back for the Lions. Shouvik again showed why he’s always the first name on the team-sheet. Confident in defence, he gave practically no space to Ralte. He did not make a lot of attacking runs, but was compact at the back.
Chinglesana Singh: 8/10
For someone aged just 19, Singh looks brilliant. Keeping former regular starter and last season’s hero out of the first XI is no mean task, and the compact, powerful and imposing defender, could be a future Indian star. The youngster had a brilliant game at the back, keeping Iain Hume, Doutie and Belencoso silent for most of the game.
Rubén Gonzalez: 7/10
The former Real Zaragoza man showed a new side to his game, providing a lot of attacking flair for his team. The defender showed his full repertoire of skills and ball-playing ability, giving Delhi the much-needed impetus from the back. The defender would be hoping his defensive teammates do a better job in the next match.
Lalchawnkima: 4/10
25 year old left-back looked uncomfortable throughout the match in his defensive duties and was troubled by Sameegh Doutie throughout the game. Playing behind Marcelinho, Lalchawnkima exchanged a few good passes with the Brazilian in the first half, but conceded a poor penalty.
Marcos Tébar: 6/10
The Spanish midfield maestro looked a little out-of-sync in the game. The former Real Madrid youth player handled proceedings well and controlled the speed of the game, slowing it down in the second half when Atletico were looking to up the ante. Did his job defensively, but was below par from his high standards.
Milan Singh: 7/10
An unsung hero and a tactical masterpiece from Gianluca Zambrotta, Milan was a gem on the field. A fighter off the ball and a calm thinker on it, Milan pressed hard and broke opposition build-up play in their half, doing his job to perfection. A little more link-up play with Marcos Tebar would’ve served the Dynamos better.
Florent Malouda: 7/10
The Frenchman used all his experience to shut out the opposition’s main man, Borja Fernandez. The marquee player played the No. 10 position well and linked up brilliantly with Gadze and Marcelinho. It was the guile and defensive stability provided by the former Chelsea winger which made Delhi look the better side in most of the game.
Marcelinho: 6/10
The Brazilian had a good game, except for the missed penalty. Running at defenders and befooling them on many occasions, the winger was brilliantly played forward by Malouda in the first half, his shot only being cleared by Prabir Das.
Rupert Nongrum: 4/10
Playing on the right wing, Nongrum did not support Shouvik much defensively and had poor first touches throughout the match. He gave away a few silly free-kicks, and Nongrum needs to calm down and concentrate on his game to cement his place in the side.
Richard Gadze: 7/10
Gadze missed a great chance at the beginning of the second half. With all defenders beaten and too slow to react, the 21-year-old needed to beat only the goalkeeper to give his team the much-deserved lead. Gadze missed two glorious half chances, which deserved to be converted by a striker. The Ghanaian needs to start converting chances soon or will have to make way for target man Badara Badji soon.
Substitutes
Bruno Pelissari: 5/10
The Brazilian looks a shadow of himself from the player fans saw when he was at Chennaiyin FC. Pelissari had two poor corner kicks to his name and did not do anything note-worthy since coming on.
Memo: 5/10
The Brazilian was relegated to the bench and came on late in the second half. Memo did try to affect proceedings late into the game, but couldn’t manage much due to his team’s ineffective link-up play.
B. Badji: NA
The Senegalese forward was brought on for Marcelinho but didn’t have an impact on the game.
